75th anniversary of the Berliner Festspiele, the festival brings together distinguished orchestras, ensembles, and soloists from around the globe to the Philharmonie and Konzerthaus Berlin, offering showcase of orchestral masterworks ranging from historical repertoire to contemporary creation.

Wiener Philharmoniker

Tugan Sokhiev, conductor
Dvořák / Prokofiev

There is hardly another symphony orchestra with closer connections to the European history of music than the Vienna Philharmonic. American violinist Hilary Hahn brings a fresh perspective to Dvořák's Violin Concerto. To her, the piece is inherently dance-like, maintaining a flowing, swaying lyricism throughout its slower passages, even when pulling back the tempo to let individual notes linger.

Prokofiev based his ballet music Romeo and Juliet on the grand ballet tradition of Tchaikovsky and Glazunov, although Prokofiev’s sophisticated dance drama with its sharply defined character studies goes far beyond the older composers’ traditional standards. Driven by jagged rhythms, crushing brass chords, and hauntingly tender melodies, the score cuts straight to the core of Shakespeare's timeless tragedy.

Chineke! Orchestra / Cape Town Opera

Enrique Mazzola, conductor
The Gershwins’Porgy and Bess

Driven by the motto “Championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music,” the Chineke! Foundation was established in 2015 by Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE to build vital, high-level career pathways for established and rising Black and ethnically diverse artists throughout the UK and Europe. George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess is a landmark American masterpiece that brilliantly bridges the worlds of classical tradition, jazz, and the blues. Set in Catfish Row, the opera weaves soaring, unforgettable melodies—including the iconic "Summertime"—with a deeply moving story of love, community, and resilience.

RIAS Kammerchor Berlin II / Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin II

Justin Doyle, conductor 
Schnittke / Duruflé

At the Musikfest Berlin, the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Justin Doyle present Alfred Schnittke’s Requiem and Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem.

Alfred Schnittke’s music is a powerful voyage through tension, contrast, and memory, defined by his signature "polystylism" where baroque elegance, romantic grandeur, and jarring modern dissonance collide. His profound, darkly atmospheric works explore the anxieties of the modern soul with theatrical intensity and haunting beauty.

Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, is a serene and luminous masterpiece deeply rooted in the meditative beauty of Gregorian chant. Blending ancient modal traditions with lush, impressionistic harmonies. Duruflé creates a deeply spiritual atmosphere of otherworldly peace, turning grief into a gentle, consoling journey toward eternal light.

📸 Credit:Fabian Schellhorn